Tears of a Lily
by James's girl
Summary: New Story! It’s been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? AU
1. Prologue

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It's been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

_**Prologue: **_

Lily's eyes filled with tears as she looked through an album filled with pictures of her and her fiancé, James Potter.

Two months ago, her long-time boyfriend proposed to her on a romantic stroll at a village park near her house. They would have been planning their wedding until James, an Auror-in-training, was called on a mission and never came back.

_Flashback: _

_Lily helped James put on his cloak as he hurriedly tried to tame his hair. _

"_Are you sure you can't back out on this mission, Jay?" Lily asked. _

_James sighed. "Lily, you know I can't. Mad-Eye needs all hands on deck." _

"_James, please, don't go. It is dangerous. What if it's a trap?" _

_James gave his fiancée a hug. "I'm doing this for the sake of our future family, Lils. I want us to live happily, not with fear in our hearts." He kissed her hand. "Do you understand?" _

_Lily didn't answer as his lips gave her a peck on the forehead._

"_I'll be back before you know it." He promised._

_With one last longing glance at her, he Disapparated. _

_It had been hours since James left and Lily was starting to grow worried. She started pacing while Cassandra, James's eight months pregnant best friend, watched. _

"_Lily, calm down." Cassandra said as she looked up from the book she was reading._

"_He'll be back. He's probably in some flower shop persuading the owner to sell all the flowers he has for you. _

Lily sighed as she sat down alongside Cassandra. "You're right. Do you really think he'll do that?"

"_Knowing James?" Cassandra laughed. "He would buy an entire flower shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, plus everything in Honeyduke's, and Gladrag's Wizardwear for you. And that probably still won't be enough for him." _

The two giggled.

The door to the room they were in clicked open and two grim-looking figures entered.

"_Sirius? Remus?" Lily stopped pacing and hurriedly poured out two cups of hot tea for the new arrivals who looked like they had been through Inferno._

_Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were two of James's best and closest friends. Together, they were known as the Marauders, the notorious gang of mischief-makers that gave all the teachers at Hogwarts huge headaches. After their Hogwarts days were over, Sirius and James went off to become Aurors while Remus went into being an Ancient Runes translator. Nevertheless, the three remained the best of friends. _

"_Where's James, you guys?" Cassandra asked worriedly as Remus helped her stand. _

"_Lily, Sandy," Sirius said, calling Cassandra by her nickname. _

_His voice shook as he said his next sentence._

"_We were supposed to raid an alleged hideout of the Death Eaters but it was a trap…Voldemort was there and…" _

"_And what, Sirius?!" Lily asked, anxiously. "What's happened?!"_

Sirius wouldn't meet her eyes. His gaze found Remus', who nodded, looking more miserable than ever.

"_Tell me, Sirius!" Lily pleaded, kneeling at his feet._

_Sirius hoisted her up by her forearms and switched places with her. Lily was now seated on his chair and he was the one kneeling. _

"_James is missing." Sirius choked out._

"_No!" Lily cried out, struggling out of Sirius' grasp. She stood up and grabbed her cloak. She would find James. She HAD to!_

"_Lily, you can't leave!" Sirius tried to push her back down on the chair._

_As though everything came rushing in at once, heavy with despair, she felt her world spin and grow dark. Sirius' grip on her shoulders tightened and she heard all her three friends frantically call out her name._

_Then all was black._

"_We have to call off the search." Alastor Moody announced, facing the two Marauders along with Lily and Sandy. The five of them sat in a conference room in the Order of the Phoenix's latest headquarters._

"_WHAT?!" exclaimed Sirius, "WHY?" _

"_Black, you must understand. We have been searching for Potter for a month and there's still no sign of him." _

_Moody's expression softened. "It was an order from Rufus Scrimegour himself, Sirius. He thought it best to call it off saying that the Aurors must concentrate on finding Death Eaters, not a missing person. If it were up to me, _

_I wouldn't have called it off. James had potential to be a great Auror, just like his father."_

_A grim silence met his words. Lily was trying desperately not to cry. Sandy sobbed silently and placed a hand on her bulging belly. Sirius' gaze could have bored a hole into the wooden table, and Remus looked twice his age with anguish. _

_Moody stood up to leave the conference room. _

"_I'm sorry for your loss." _

_End of Flashback_

"Lily?" Cassandra's melodic voice snapped her red-haired friend back to the present. She carryied in a tray of food. Her pregnant belly was more enormous than before.

"I thought you'd be hungry, so I brought you dinner. It's lasagna and garlic chicken."

Lily sobbed ad she closed the album. "He promised he'd be back, Sandy."

Sandy hugged her. The two took solace in each other's grief, exchanging stories about James.

"You know, everyday during summer, ever since he was eleven, he would often think about you. It was always 'Lily this', and 'Lily that'. Naturally, I felt jealous. James and I had been best friends since we were toddlers. Our moms predicted that we'd end up together in the future, but he met you. When he appeared at my doorstep, we didn't know what came over ourselves. I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

Lily shook her head. "You don't have to apologize. In fact, I should thank you. When he found out that you were pregnant, I saw a sudden change in him: he was twice as hardworking and dedicated with his training."

"Babies work miracles on those boys. I'm pretty sure that by the time the baby is born, Sirius would argue that the age of one is perfect for the baby to have his first ride on a broomstick."

The two burst out laughing.

Sandy slowly stood, "Well, I gotta go down. I baked a batch of cookies, a bunch of muffins, a tray of cupcakes and brownies, and I _cannot_ allow Sirius to inhale all of it."

"Why bake so many sweets?" Lily asked, her eyes widening.

"I was depressed, I guess. Enjoy your dinner and I'll save you some pastries."

"Thanks."

Once Sandy stepped out of the door, she cringed with pain.

"Cassandra?" asked Lily when she noticed her friend stop and clutch the doorframe. "Is something…"

Her emerald green eyes widened when she saw a pool of blood forming around the carpet"…wrong?"

Lily made a quick dash downstairs, exclaiming, "Sirius, Remus! We have to go to St. Mungo's right away! Cassandra's in labor!"

"On the next contraction, I want you push, understand, Cassandra?" Lily said.

Cassandra gripped the sheets as she felt the full force of the labor pains hit her. She tried to fight the pain that was encasing her body. She sat up and pushed. Sirius and Remus supported her by holding her back.

"Come on, Sandy, push!" exclaimed Lily, "I can almost see the baby's head."

Cassandra used the last of her energy, and gave one final, hard push.

A spurt of red slime, the flash of Lily's hand as she wrapped a towel around a small body. The piercing cry of a baby could be heard within the maternity ward.

Sandy fell back against the pillows, breathing heavily, but her eyes never drifted from the sight of the small figure Lily was cleaning in the corner.

Lily's eyes were filled with tears too as she cleaned the baby. They were mixed tears of happiness, sadness and pain. James would have been happy to see how beautiful his baby looked like.

"What is it?" Cassandra asked, hoarse from her birthing.

Lily hastily wiped her tears before carrying the baby towards her mother. "It's a beautiful baby girl, Cassandra." She delicately placed the small pink bundle in Cassandra's arms. "Congratulations."

Sirius and Remus looked at the baby girl. She had Cassandra's ebony black hair and James's chocolate brown eyes.

"She looks just like you, Sandy." Remus complimented.

"But she looks a little small," noticed Sirius.

"That's because she's two weeks pre-mature," Lily answered, "But her weight and height is the same as for the babies born on time. She also has the thickest hair I have ever seen in any newborn."

Cassandra's tears trickled down her smiling lips.

"What are you going to name her, Sandy?"

"Crystal," she answered. "Crystal Alexandra. That's the name James suggested if it's a girl."

Crystal Alexandra Rayne-Potter," Sirius said aloud. "I like it."

"There's one more thing he would have wanted." Cassandra spoke up. "He would have wanted you, Lily, to be his daughter's godmother. He reckons-and I agree- that you'll make a great step-mother if anything happens to me. And, I believe, Remus, he wants you to be Crystal's godfather."

Lily and Remus's eyes widened. "Really?"

"You'll do a great job, you two. That's why he chose you."

Sirius looked offended. "Why did he leave me out? James promised me that I'd be his first kid's godparent."

"He did. He wanted you to be the baby's godparent if it was a boy, Sirius. 'Better to corrupt my son's mind than my daughter's', he once told me. And hello! James Potter. _The _James Potter, leave his best friend, brother, and partner-in-crime behind? That's crazy!"

Everyone laughed. Sirius whacked Remus playfully in the arm.

"You have to be all behaved, Moony. If it was a boy, I could have taught him a thing or two before he entered Hogwarts.

"I'm sure James wouldn't object to us teaching her 'a thing or two." Remus whacked him back and ran a gentle finger on his godchild's forehead.

Cassandra started packing her things when Lily knocked on her door.

"Hey," Cassandra greeted. "I heard Adela talked to you yesterday."

Adela Potter is James's mother. She liked both Lily and Cassandra for her son but left the decision to him for she knew that his heart would never make the wrong decision. When Crystal was born, she was overjoyed and sent Cassandra loads of baby things that needed twenty owls to transport . The time she visited St. Mungo's nursery was the first time Lily, Cassandra, Sirius, and Remus saw Adela smile genuinely since her son disappeared.

Lily nodded. "Yeah. She wanted me to move in with her back at the Potter mansion. She needs company now that Harry's gone."

Sandra smiled as she scooped up her crying daughter. "How nice of her."

"And she wants you to come live with us."

Sandra, who was feeding Crystal, felt her jaw drop. "What?"

Lily nodded affirmatively. "Come live with us. Adela wants to have access to her granddaughter everyday. I trust you know how persistent that woman can be?"

Cassandra giggled as she slowly tried to burp her baby.

"She's very much like James. It's no surprise that they are mother and son."

"So, what do you say, Sandy?" Lily asked, expectantly.

Once Cassandra heard a small burp come from her baby, she delicately placed the baby in the bassinet. "I don't know, Lily. I mean, who's going to pay for my college tuition? My step-father disowned me, remember?"

When Cassandra's step-father, William Smith, found out that his step-daughter was pregnant with a magical baby-and out of wedlock, too, he disowned her saying that he had enough of this abnormality.

"Adela's taken care of that. She's willing to pay you all throughout college."

"But the apartment I just bought-"

"-was sold to another person, courtesy of me. I already deposited the money into your bank account."

"And my Wiccan stuff-?"

"-Already moved into the Potter Manor. What do you say, Sandy?"

Cassandra gazed intently at her friend, doubt still etched on her face.

Lily continued. "Put it this way. It's better to raise Crystal with all the help you need, rather than alone, right?"

Cassandra ignored her and slowly closed her bag.

"When do we move in?" she finally gave a genuine smile as she turned around to face Lily.


	2. Three Years Later

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It's been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

To all those reviewers: Thank you all. By the way, for all those who were anxiously waiting for Chapter 3 of Two Worlds Apart, I'm sorry. I have to delete the fic since I have no idea what to write next. I hope this latest story would make up for that.

Special thanks to my beta, silvereyesangelwings who likewise, has agreed to co-write this fic.

In addition, I guess, I forgot the disclaimer…Sorry...

_**Disclaimer: I don't own those you recognize. **_

_**Chapter 1: Three Years Later**_

The Potter manor was in utter chaos. It had been three years since James disappeared and was considered dead. Everybody has pretty much moved on. Yet, deep down their hearts, a small ray of hope still shone. They all still held on to the thought that one day, they would find him.

A young man about twenty-five years old waited impatiently by the door. He had dark black hair and the grayest eyes. An Auror badge gleamed from the left collar of his deep blue robes. From his steady posture and intense gaze, anyone would immediately judge him to be an Auror even without the badge. Derrick Sartoga, however, was not aware that his good looks gave him that impression.

He's also Cassandra's boyfriend. The two met at James's memorial and since then, they have been inseparable. When they became an item, Cassandra lost no time in telling him that she already had a daughter out of wedlock and if he refused to accept the idea, then it's best that they go their separate ways. At first, it shocked him, but in the end, he accepted Crystal and loved her as if she were his own.

"Cassandra!" he called out. "Let's go!" He came inside to wait for her.

"Good morning, Derrick," Adela Potter greeted him as she strided out of the kitchen.

Derrick smiled as she handed him a steaming mug of coffee.

"I didn't hear you come in. How are you?" Adela took a sip from her own cup.

"I'm fine, Ma'am," replied Derrick, as he accepted the coffee. "Thank you."

"Please, Derrick. Cassandra is practically a daughter to me. Call me Adela."

"Thank you then, Adela."

Cassandra and Lily suddenly interrupted them. They descended down the stairs, with Sandy busily stuffing extra clothes, a notepad, a pencil case, and a folder inside her backpack while mildly scolding a little girl who was almost at the age of three and walked down alongside her.

The little girl wore a cute pink shirt with the print, 'Princess' written on it, a white mini skirt, and a pair of pink ballet flats.

"Are you sure it's okay if I can leave Crystal with you?" Cassandra asked Lily, who had foiled Crystal's third attempt to slide down the staircase's banister. "I just don't have the time to drop her off to daycare since I have to open the bakery, and Spencer doesn't want Crystal anywhere near the _Prophet's_ headquarters and-"

Brian Spencer, Cassandra's boss at the Daily Prophet, the Wizarding world's newspaper, was not exactly a fan of parents bringing their children along during work hours. The last time Crystal was there she ---- let's just say that the employees of the paper have banned the use of toy broomsticks on the premises.

"It's alright, Sandra," assured Lily. "Crystal can be my little assistant while I'm busy with my rounds."

"You're a life saver, Lily!" Cassandra gave her friend a hug and then turned to her boyfriend, saying, "Sorry I took so long, Derrick, but this little girl over here hid my keys in her toy chest."

Derrick chuckled. "You owe me dinner then."

"Deal."

Cassandra kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Be good, okay? No using your powers, understand?"

Crystal nodded reluctantly.

After giving Adela a quick hug, Cassandra Disapparated. Derrick lingered for a while, though, to give Crystal a thumbs-up sign, which the child returned. Derrick Disapparated too.

"What was that for?" Adela asked amused.

Lily helped her goddaughter wear her coat before proceeding to put her own saying, "Derrick bribed my godchild over here to hide her mother's keys so that Cassandra would cook for him tonight. Derrick loves Sandra's cooking."

"That explains it." Adela laughed. "It's best that you be on your way or you'll be late!"

Lily and Crystal arrived at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies via Floo powder. The hospital was already busy and packed with people. People with all kinds of magical diseases fidgeted in the waiting room until a Healer called his or her name.

"Morning, Healer Evans," the receptionist greeted as Lily approached the front desk for her assignments. "Mr. Smith is back in again after complaining of a series of chest pains and tightness of breathing."

The receptionist dropped her voice low. "I heard from the other Healers that Chloe's planning to set you up again."

Chloe Stevens, Lily's co-Healer and close friend is hell spent on getting her to forget James by setting her up with so many times. Sadly, these dates did not turn out the way she wanted.

"Thank you, Bertha," Lily smiled sheepishly, "But I'm no longer into the dating business. Come along, Crystal."

Crystal skipped alongside her godmother as Lily smiled and greeted good morning at the passers-by who greeted her. Once they reached the office, Lily helped her goddaughter remove her coat and lifted her onto the desk.

"So what are we going to do today, Aunt Lily?" Crystal asked as she watched her godmother replace her cloak with her green Healer robes.

"We are going to take care of sick people," answered Lily as she lifted Crystal down. "So I want you to be in your best behavior just like you promised your mother, okay? Because if you do, I might just buy what you want for your birthday."

Crystal's hazel eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Really?"

"Maybe." Shrugged Lily mysteriously.

"Here," Lily conjured a smaller version of her Healer robes for Crystal, "You can be my little assistant."

Crystal delightedly pulled on the green robes. "I get to be like you today!"

Lily laughed and took her hand. "Come on, sweetie. We have to get some work out of the way."

Lily and Crystal emerged from the office and made their way towards a patient's room when Chloe caught up to them.

"Morning, Lily," Chloe greeted. "Have I got a date for you --"

Lily cut her friend off, "Chloe, I appreciate your concern and all, but I don't want to date other men. I'm not ready yet."

Chloe sighed exasperatedly, "Lily, it's been three years since James's disappearance. When are you going to move on?"

She immediately wished she didn't utter her last sentence, because Lily came to a sudden halt outside a patient's door.

"When I see James's dead body or some solid proof that he really is dead!" Lily finally answered as she led Crystal into a private ward, closing the door behind them.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith," Lily said brightly at the old man who lay on the bed, reading a book.

Mr. Smith replied, "Good morning, Healer Evans."

He noticed Crystal, who shyly hid behind Lily. "And who do we have here?"

Lily smiled as she inspected her clipboard.

"This is my goddaughter, Crystal. She'll be my little assistant today."

"Really now?" He took out a Chocolate Frog from his bedside table and handed it to Crystal.

The little girl timidly accepted the treat.

"Thank you," she gave him a grin. The old man smiled as she opened the wrapper and ate the chocolate before it hopped away.

"Now," Lily said in a formal tone, "It says here that you had a series of chest pains and tightness of breathing. Did you take your potions twice a day?"

Mr. Smith nodded. "And it ruddy tastes like feet, if you ask me."

Lily giggled. "But did you lay off smoking the pipe like I told you?"

Her patient didn't answer.

"Aha!" Lily said as she tipped the contents of a vial of potion into a goblet that lay on his bedside table. "You have got to stop smoking, Sir. The consequences are simply difficult to heal."

She put an arm around him as she adjusted the pillows to help the elderly man drink the potion.

"Thank you, Lily."

"You're welcome, Sir."

The morning rushed by so quickly and Lily was already exhausted while Crystal enjoyed every minute she was at the hospital. Turns out that everybody loved having a little girl in their midst.

Crystal busied herself with a coloring book Cassandra strategically placed on her daughter's backpack in case she grew bored. Lily was feeding her lunch at the hospital's cafeteria. Chloe came over to sit with them, carrying two cups of tea. She pushed one towards Lily, who hadn't been able to take a bite of her own lunch, as she was busy feeding Crystal.

"Thanks, Chloe, and I'm sorry about my outburst awhile ago," Lily said, "I just….I find it difficult to move on, especially if a part of him is sitting right beside me."

Chloe held her friend's hand. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to cheer you up and watch you finally move on with your life."

"I understand. Thanks for all the effort, though."

"What are friends are for?" Chloe smiled.

"Finished!" Crystal exclaimed as she showed Lily and Chloe a page she colored in her coloring book. It composed of a purple Snitch, a yellow, orange, green and brown Quidditch player.

Lily smiled, careful not to laugh. "Very good, Crystal!"

Crystal's eyes twinkled as her godmother fed her another mouthful of food.

Lily was exhausted, glad that her shift was over. Her arms were beginning to ache from carrying the sleeping Crystal on the way home.

She fumbled her bag for her keys and opened the door.

"I'm home!" Lily called out.

Cassandra rushed over to welcome them. "Did she give you a hard time?"

"She was a good girl. Something Sirius would never be proud of."

Crystal's mother beamed as she gently took Crystal from Lily.

"Did you cook something?" asked Lily, "I'm starving! Crystal had macaroni and cheese for dinner, by the way."

"Food's all served in the kitchen. Adela, Sirius, Remus, and Derrick are in there. You go ahead, I'll just put this little girl to bed."

Lily watched as Cassandra walked up the stairs before proceeding to the kitchen.

Crystal's room was painted sky blue with fluffy white clouds. All her furniture was painted white except for the pink toy chest that used to belong to Cassandra when she was little.

Cassandra lay her daughter on the bed. She muttered a charm to replace Crystal's clothes with clean lavender pajamas and drew the blankets around her. A piece of paper in her daughter's grasp caught her eye, and she gently pried it out of Crystal's hand and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She made sure she turned on Crystal's night lights. (She has two in her room, one shaped like a Snitch and the other shaped like a Quaffle, courtesy of Sirius), The child wasn't afraid of the dark, but Crystal loved the night lights Sirius gave her. Sandy was about to turn the rest of the room's lights off, when her daughter called.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?" Cassandra answered, turning around.

"Did you see the picture I colored?"

"The one with the Snitch and Quidditch player? It's beautiful."

"I chose that because Aunt Lily told me that Daddy was good in drawing and Quidditch."

Cassandra's eyes welled up with tears as she kissed her daughter on the forehead once more. "Yes, Crystal. He was."

Her daughter yawned. "When I grow up, I will be just like Daddy!"

Cassandra watched her daughter hug her teddy bear and drift off to sleep before quietly tiptoing out of the room and closing the door.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Cassandra sank to the floor, crying. "Where are you, James?" she whispered.

"Your daughter needs you."


	3. How Can this Be?

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It's been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

_**Author's note: Apologies for not updating. School just started once more and it's crazy! I'll try to update every other week. Thank you to those who reviewed, by the way hugs. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own those you recognize. **_

_**Chapter 2: How Can This Be? **_

Sirius busily patrolled the forest on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. The Ministry dispatched a small party of Aurors to keep watch on the vicinity of Hogsmeade for they received an intelligence report of Death Eater activity.

"Everything alright on your end, Black?" Frank Longbottom asked, as he Apparated alongside him.

"Yeah," replied Sirius, smoothing back his hair and sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "Honestly! This report was a hoax! No Death Eater activity at all!"

Frank shrugged. "You know the Ministry, Sirius. They want to reassure the public that we are doing something. These reports-whether true or not-are taken into consideration."

"And when it is indeed a hoax, they keep it quiet," snorted Sirius, leaning against the trunk of a tree.

"Well-"

The two stopped in their tracks to find a suspicious lump a few feet from them.

Wands at the ready, they cautiously approached.

"Good Lord!" Frank gasped as they saw the lump was in fact an unconscious man.

The poor fellow was badly bruised, beaten, and had a huge gash on his chest.

Sirius knelt down to check his pulse. "He's barely alive. Alert St. Mungo's right away."

Frank nodded before Disapparating.

Sirius hurriedly took out his handkerchief to stop the bleeding on the man's chest before sending red sparks from his wand into the sky to alert the others. He silently cursed under his breath for not listening to one of Lily's many lectures on life saving healing spells.

Lily emerged out of a patient's ward. Remus and Adela had volunteered to keep an eye on Crystal for the day since Cassandra had to interview someone for the _Prophet_ after she opened the bakery. Despite the fact that she loved her goddaughter to pieces, she had her hands full for today.

She walked inside her office to make herself some coffee when her boss popped his head in.

"Evans! A John Doe was brought in by two Aurors awhile ago. Nurses are currently cleaning him. I want you to assess his condition."

Lily sighed. "I'm on it."

Lily walked out of the office only to find Sirius and Frank waiting.

"What are you two doing here?!" she asked.

"We were the ones who found the John Doe at Hogsmeade," Sirius replied.

"How is he?" asked Frank.

The Healer answered. "I don't know yet, I'll keep you posted and I'll tell you when I'm done assessing him."

The two Aurors nodded and excused themselves to grab a bite to eat at the hospital's cafeteria.

Lily entered the ward as two nurses stepped out of the room, greeting her.

She picked up the clipboard at the foot of the bed, it read:

_Name: John Doe_

_Sex: Male_

_Age: Approx. 20 years old_

"Well that's a start," she muttered to herself as she took out a chocolate brown Quick-Quotes Quill, a gift from Cassandra when she became a full-fledged Healer.

She placed the clipboard and quill on the bedside table. She couldn't help but be moved with pity at the sight of the limp body spread across the bed with a large pole with a little bag of liquid attached to his arm. His hair was unkempt, large bags under his eyes, bruises, cuts, and burns all over him…….

"Assessment on John Doe," the Healer began examining the patient.

The Quick-Quotes Quill rose on its point and began to write what Lily was dictating.

Cassandra stared at the open book in front of her. Despite the fact that she had a big test on Finance come Friday, she couldn't help but feel…distracted. Like something big was going to happen that day. But what?

"Rayne!" a booming voice broke her out of her reverie.

It was her boss, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet; Brian Spencer. He looked at her indignantly. "Is that article that I asked you to write for page three done? We have a deadline to meet today, Rayne!"

Cassandra busily shuffled around the mess that she called her desk and handed her boss a piece of parchment about a foot long.

"Here," she said, "A page on the story of Barty Crouch and the latest developments of the Department of Magical Reinforcement."

Her boss took the parchment, saying," Make sure that the article we're putting on page twelve for tomorrow night's paper is ready at my desk by two o'clock tomorrow, understand?"

"Yes, Sir," sighed Cassandra.

Giving up on concentrating on studying for her big exam on Finance, she closed her college textbook and started working on the article instead. As she shuffled through her equally messy desk drawer for a blank piece of parchment, she came across a picture of her pregnant self and James sleeping on a couch surrounded by piles of boxes. She guessed that this was taken the day she helped Lily and James move into their new house.

_Flashback _

_A five months pregnant Cassandra carried a medium sized box filled with tablecloths towards the new house Lily and James bought for themselves. _

_As she entered the sitting room, she noticed James was busily cleaning the dusty sitting room using magic. _

"_So, where do you want this?" Cassandra asked. _

"_Oh, there on the -----"James's eyes widened when he finally turned around and saw her_

"_Cassandra!" he scolded, as he hurriedly took the box away from his pregnant friend and ushered her onto the couch. "You shouldn't carry heavy objects remember?"_

"_James, for the record it was not heavy! It was the box with tablecloths," Cassandra replied, grudgingly as she sat on the couch, "I just wanted to help you and Lily unpack. Speaking of Lily, where is she?" _

_James sighed as he collapsed on the couch alongside Cassandra. "She went to buy nails for the picture frames she wants to hang here."_

_A moment of silence passed before James spoke again._

"_Look," he said, facing her, "I appreciate the fact that you want to help, but you're in a delicate condition." _

_Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Please, I'm pregnant, not disabled. I just feel like I'm not capable of anything right now. I mean, I'm not allowed to go on missions for the Order, I can't even play two against one Quidditch with you and Sirius anymore! You're all making me feel useless!" _

_James cupped Cassandra's chin with his hand. "No, you're not useless. Far from it. You still bake the best pastries for the Order- which to quote Dumbledore, 'are the best they've tasted so far'. You help Molly with the cooking, you helped me review the defensive spells for Auror training." _

_He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Besides, I cannot allow you to lose our baby. He's going to continue the legacy of mischief making I left at Hogwarts with the rest of the Marauders." _

"_And if it's a girl?" _

"_Well, let's just hope that she grows up as smart as you." _

_Cassandra giggled as she settled on the couch while James rested his head and closed his eyes._

"_James?" _

"_Hhmm?" _

"_Thanks." _

"_For what?" _

"_For everything." _

_James waved it aside. "Nah. It was nothing. The baby deserves nothing but the best." _

_The two grew silent for a while, resting. When suddenly, Cassandra felt a sudden movement inside of her womb. She gasped. _

"_What?" James suddenly sat bolt upright, his hazel eyes filled with worry._

"_Jay! The baby's moving." She quickly took his hand and placed it on her growing stomach. _

_They both felt the baby's feather light kicks against the womb. _

"_The little tyke's a potential Quidditch player!" James said, kissing the womb. "Either that or he's cooped up inside you for so long that he wants to see whether he can outshine his dad's handsome face." _

_Cassandra laughed. _

_Lily arrived with Sirius a few moments later only to find James and Cassandra fast asleep on the couch, both smiling peacefully. James's hand was placed on top of Cassandra's womb. _

_Lily smiled at the cute sight in front of her. "I'll go get a blanket, we haven't started a fire yet." She rummaged through a pile of boxes._

_Sirius, had other plans. Grinning widely, he took out his camera._

"_Now this is blackmail!" He said when the flash went off. "Don't tell them, Lily. Not till I have it blown up and framed on my 'Wall of Shame'."_

"_You have a wall of shame?!" Lily suddenly looked alarmed._

"_It's one wall of my apartment. You won't believe how much its filled up since our Hogwarts days."_

_End of Flashback _

She broke out of her reverie when she noticed an owl nipping her on the shoulder.

Once the owl got her attention, it stuck out its leg to reveal a letter tied to it.

She took out the letter and read it right away after noticing Lily's handwriting.

Without another thought, she grabbed her camera, a notepad, a handful of her Quick Quotes Quills, and her cloak before Disapparating.

Lily could not help but feel sad for the man and angry for the Death Eaters who did this to him. Based on her findings, he was first used as a torture guinea pig before he was finished off by the _Sectumsepra_ spell.

Lily suppressed the urge to let out a stream of curses.

"Snape." She muttered through her teeth. This definitely looked like his handiwork. Sectumsempra was usually his form of abuse.

It was a good thing Sirius and Frank found the victim just in time or he would have died in the next hour due to loss of blood.

"…Internal organs are starting to heal," Lily said, after taking out her bloodied rubber gloves. "Due to the physical-and possibly the psychological torture, he could wake up either insane or with amnesia. I recommend Blood replenishing potions every other two hours for a week and wound cleaning every other day."

Cassandra was hurrying around the wards of St. Mungo's trying to find Lily when she bumped into Sirius and Frank, who just arrived from the cafeteria.

"Cassandra?" Sirius called out.

Cassandra stopped short. "Sirius? Frank? What are you two doing here?"

"We found an unconscious man during our patrol around Hogsmeade," Frank answered. "The report, I believe, came from Emmeline Vance. What's your excuse?"

"I came here care of Lily. She wants me to write an article to find the relatives on the man you found. Where's Derrick?" 

"He went back to Hogsmeade to search for anymore casualties."

Cassandra sighed, relieved. "Is Lily inside the ward?"

"Yeah," nodded Sirius. "She's assessing the victim as we speak."

"Thanks." Cassandra disappeared into the ward.

Cassandra entered the ward just as Lily was cleaning up.

"Hey. I came here as soon as I received your owl." She noticed that her friend's eyes were filled with tears. "Is something wrong?"

"This man was used by Voldemort as a guinea pig for torture," Lily replied, hastily wiping her tears. "He was lucky enough to survive. What kind of person would do this to such an innocent man?"

Cassandra pulled her friend into a hug. "The kind of man who wages a war he believes is so easy to win, but difficult for us. She looked at the victim with pity. "As for him, he'll survive and you will be thanked by the family since it was you who made such a huge effort to save him."

"You're right. If he survives though, its either he becomes insane or he loses his memory."

The reporter took out a camera and started taking pictures of him. "Really? What's the diagnosis?"

Lily handed her a clipboard saying, "It's all in here."

"Thanks. Let's just hope that the Ministry doesn't sensor this too."

"Yeah…"

As Lily continued about the John Doe's condition, Cassandra was about to take a sideward shot of him when she noticed something vaguely familiar about him. She noticed a faint trace of a scar on his right cheek.

_Flashback_

_Summer 1975_

_It was the summer after fifth year. Cassandra, excited that her childhood best friend has returned from Hogwarts, jumped out of the car and ran towards the back of her house, passed through the door leading to the Potter's garden, and climbed up the ladder she and James made by his window. _

"_James!" _

_Cassandra pulled her best friend into a tight hug, something that surprised him. _

"_Goodness, I missed you!" she said. _

_James chuckled. "Okay, Cass. I appreciate the hugs but I can't breathe." _

_His best friend let go, her cheeks burning red. _

"_So," she said as she sat on his bed watching him unpack. "How were your O.W.L.S? Salem nearly butchered us with ours this year!" _

_James arrogantly shrugged as he messed up his hair. "T'was okay. I'd probably get an O on it. Especially on Defense Against the Dark Arts, thanks to your tips." _

"_Nah! It was nothing. I should be the one thanking you. You helped me with Transfiguration." _

"_So we're even then." _

_Cassandra noticed something white on James's right cheek, something that he had been so keen in hiding from her. _

"_What's that on your cheek, Jay?" she asked. _

"_This? It's- It's nothing, really. I just got injured during Quidditch, that's all." James attempted a quick dash out of his room when the door slammed shut. _

_He cursed under his breath. He forgot that his friend was gifted with the power of telekinesis. _

_Cassandra went over to look at the bandage on the cheek and gasped. "What did you do this time?" _

_James looked into Cassandra's penetrating stare. He answered, "I hexed Snape." _

"_Again?! Honestly, James! What's he done to you?" _

"_Must I always have a reason to hex Snape?" _

"_Yes?" Cassandra forced her friend to sit down as she took out some ointment and cotton from the medicine box in his room. She poured some ointment on the cotton, slowly removed the bandage, and started cleaning the wound. "James, you mustn't run around the castle hexing people just because you can…" _

_James winced at the feel of the stinging medicine._

"…_Hold still would you? I mean, based from your stories, you must loathe him so much, but why must you hex him whenever you have the chance? That's very immature of you, you know that?" _

_Her best friend grimaced, "Tell me something that Remus never lectured me with, would you Sandy? Is that gonna leave a scar?" _

"_It is," Sandy replied in a mock serious tone. "What's the matter? Scared that a small scar would ruin the Heartthrob of Hogwarts's reputation?" _

"_Nah…I'm just worried about what's going to happen to Salem Academy of Witches's best Chaser when she's murdered by her best friend for mocking his reputation." _

_The two laughed. _

"_Come on," Cassandra said, dragging her friend out the door. "Let me teach you and Sirius a Muggle sport popular in America: baseball. Let's see if your Quidditch reflexes can help." _

"_Bring it on! Loser wears a tutu for a week? In public?" _

"_Game!" _

_End of Flashback_

"This scar……." Cassandra muttered to herself.

Lily stopped talking. "Something wrong, Sandy?"

"Where are the victim's clothes?" she asked.

"Over there." Lily pointed at the heap of clothes on a chair.

"Lily, there's something familiar about him." Cassandra said, as she started rummaging through the man's robes.

Lily looked at her friend as if she just announced that she was planning to elope with Luscius Malfoy.

"What?"

"The scar on his right cheek. Remember the time when James bullied Snape after your O.W.L.S. during fifth year?"

Lily looked at the patient's right cheek and gasped. Not believing what she was seeing, she opened an eye and it revealed the familiar hazel eyes. The same shade as Crystal's.

"How can this be?" Lily whispered.

"That's the exact same question I've been asking myself." Cassandra held out her hand and showed her what she found.

It was a pair of James's round shaped glasses.

**Dundundundun….Cliffhanger there..**

**Again..I'll try to post every other week, **

**Please leave a review, thanks! **

**James' girl **


	4. Third Time's a Charm

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It's been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

_**Author's note: I apologize for the lateness. School's taking a toll on my free time. Special thanks to my beta, **_silvereyesangelwings_** for agreeing to co-write this fic. Love ya girl! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own those you recognize. **_

_**Chapter 3: Third Times always the Charm**_

Lily couldn't believe her eyes.

"Sandy…"

Cassandra steadied Lily and helped her to a chair. "Sit down, Lils."

"How can this be happening?" Lily exhaled shakily. "I mean, is it really-------"

Cassandra nodded her head as new tears formed in Lily's emerald eyes.

"Who else can it be, Lily? The scar, the eyes, the glasses… I wonder why Sirius didn't recognize him?"

"He was covered in muck and blood when he came in…"

Lily held back a sob before adding:

"When he wakes up, he might not even recognize us…"

"I know." Cassandra found she was crying too. "But what matters is that you were able to save him. You saved James. You, and Sirius, and Frank." She wiped away her tears and put the glasses into Lily's hands. "He's alive, Lily. You never gave up in believing that. Now here he is." She tried to give her green-eyed friend a winning smile.

"You're right." Lily returned Sandy's attempt at a grin with one of her own. Her expression suddenly hardened. "And I know who gave him that gash on the chest."

Cassandra stiffened. "Who?"

Lily stood up and gently traced a finger on the bandage covering the slash. "A gash like this is caused by the Sectumsempra hex. When I treat people who are rushed in here because of a Death Eater attack, some of them have wounds just like it."

"And?" Cassandra prompted.

"Only one Death Eater has Sectumsempra as a signature move, Sandy. One guess."

Cassandra Rayne's eyes blazed with suppressed firepower.

"Severus Snape."

&&&&&&&

Adela set down a pot of stew along with some shepherd's pie on the table and wiped her brow. She twirled her wand and magicked three place settings.

Even from inside, she could hear Remus' exclamations of caution as he and Crystal played a one-on-one game of Quidditch in the backyard of Potter Manor.

DING!

"SCORE!" came Crystal's triumphant yell.

"Crystal! Don't swerve like that! You'll fall! And your mother will strangle me even if I manage to survive the hexes your grandmother will curse me with!"

'That's fifty to ten!' Remus sighed to himself as Crystal obeyed his request.

"Real brooms are much more fun than toy broomsticks!" She said as she dove for the Quaffle and prepared to hurl it through one of the score hoops once more.

Remus braced himself for another humiliating bout on his Keeper abilities.

"Lunchtime!" Adela called from the kitchen door.

Remus exhaled a sigh of relief and took out his wand from the pocket of his robes. He flicked it in Crystal's direction and the Quaffle soared out of her hands and into the small storage crate set on the ground.

"Can we play again after we eat?" Crystal begged as she swooped in carefully next to him.

"I promised your mother you would take a nap after lunch, sweetheart."

"I won't tell her you played Quidditch with me!" Crystal's eyes were twinkling mischievously. Remus' heart ached. He had seen that look so many times on James' face.

"Grandma will let us." His goddaughter was saying as they landed in the middle of the garden and ambled into the manor.

Remus took both their broomsticks into his arms and stowed them in a cabinet.

"Nice try, baby. That argument will only work with your Uncle Sirius. And what have I told you about promises?" he asked as he took her hand and led her into the dining room.

"Promises should always be kept." Crystal recited.

"Very good. Now, I made a promise to your mother that you would take a nap after you eat lunch. I wouldn't be keeping that promise if we continued our game, which you won, hands down."

Crystal suddenly looked up at him. "Mommy was a good Chaser, right? Next time, I want to try playing Seeker, just like Daddy."

Remus felt his heart ache once more as he nodded.

"Wash your hands, please." Adela winked at them both when they entered the dining room.

Remus opened the door to a bathroom and lifted Crystal up so she could reach the taps on the sink. The way her eyes glowed reminded him so much of the friend he lost.

_"You don't know how much we all miss your Dad, Crystal."_

&&&&&&&

"I'm going to ask Chloe to take my shift." Lily picked up her clipboard and her Quick-Quotes Quill and walked out of James' ward.

Cassandra hurried out after her. "Wha--- where are you going?"

"To find Snape." Lily replied in a final tone as she walked down the empty hallway.

"Lily! Hold on! Think about what you just said you were going to do!" Cassandra ran ahead, blocking Lily's progress.

"You're proposing to find a Death Eater who nearly murdered your fiancée! What will you do when you-------"

"I won't kill him! I just want to ---- " Lily answered, continuing to move so Cassandra was forced to walk backwards.

"Lily," Cassandra pleaded. "I know how you must feel. I don't want you to be the next one ending up like James! Snape's a Death Eater, Lily! Who knows what he'll------"

Cassandra's sentence died on her lips when she saw Lily's eyes fill with tears once more.

"James was nearly killed by the Sectumsempra hex. Snape can't do anything more hurting to me that's worse than trying to kill someone I love."

Lily wiped her tears before looking at Cassandra right in the eyes.

"Please, Sandy. You have to understand why I want to do this."

Cassandra finally nodded. "I'll break the news to Sirius and Remus. Adela too. I'll tell Derrick over dinner tonight."

Lily nodded once before placing a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Will you tell Crystal?"

It was Cassandra's turn to weep silently. "No. Not yet. Moreover, I want everyone there when I do tell her. You, Adela, Remus, Derrick, and Sirius."

Lily nodded again.

"Be careful, Lily." Cassandra pleaded.

"I will." Lily promised.

"I'd better go find Sirius." Cassandra managed an encouraging smile. She watched Lily go to sign off early before taking a deep breath and heading for the waiting lounge. She found Sirius seated on one of the lounge's squashy armchairs, thoughtfully twirling his wand in his fingers. His handsome features lit up in a smile when he saw her, but the smile faded when he took in her facial expression.

"Frank's gone back on duty. I stayed to wait for Lily's assessment report." He said in a rush as he came over to her. Cassandra nodded.

"What's wrong?" Sirius demanded.

Cassandra pulled him past the bewildered lady at the lounge's desk and out the hospital door.

"Sandy? What---what are you---- Tell me what's going on!" Sirius took hold of his friend's clammy hand on the front of his Auror robes.

Her face was drained of all color when she turned to face him.

"We need to go back to Potter Manor. There's something you all should know."

Sirius nodded. A moment later, he and Cassandra Disapparated on the spot.

&&&&&&&

"That was a delicious lunch, Adela." Remus commented as he used his wand to flick the soap and sponge to life and wash the luncheon dishes.

"Thank you, dear." Adela was putting away the leftovers.

Crystal had obediently gone into her room for her nap, to Remus' immense relief. He had tucked her in and gone back down to help Adela clear the table.

"You two sounded like you were having a lot of fun playing Quidditch." Adela said, amusedly.

"We spoil her too much. Cassandra would have a heart attack if she finds out we let Crystal play on real brooms. She has her parents' knack for playing Quidditch. Believe me; I wasn't letting her win while we were playing."

Adela laughed at his expression. "Then it's good that you didn't use the bludgers yet."

Their talk was interrupted by the sound of a key turning in the front door.

"It's certainly early for Lily or Sandy to be back----"Adela murmured as she and Remus went into the front hall.

Cassandra and Sirius came in, looking distressed and confused respectively.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked, as Sirius closed the door behind them.

Cassandra looked at each of them in turn before exhaling a breath she realized she had been holding.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Adela sat down in an armchair. "Wha--what do you mean, Sandy?"

"Good news." Remus answered for them all.

Cassandra put down her things on a small coffee table before saying:

"James is alive, and he's been found. He's at St. Mungo's."

Adela turned pale and clutched at the fabric of her chair.

"James? My son is alive!" she was smiling through tears as she leapt up and grasped Cassandra's shoulder.

"Please… Is he-------?"

"That's the bad news." Cassandra guided Adela back to her chair before turning to face Sirius.

"The man you and Frank found. That was James. You didn't recognize him because of all the blood on his face. Remember Lily called me to do an article on him so we can help find his family? She was finished with the assessment report by then. I found a scar on his cheek. It was the one James got during fifth year at Hogwarts. I found his glasses in a pocket of his coat. And his eyes. There's no mistaking them…"

Sirius and Remus looked dumbstruck. Adela's tears continued to flow as Cassandra ploughed on with the rest of her difficult story.

"James suffered so much. Lucky enough, Lily was able to stem his wounds in time and give him a Blood-Replenishing potion. She says his wounds show that he was used like a guinea pig. For torture purposes."

Adela let out a strangled sob. Cassandra found her own eyes were wet also. She looked over at the two Marauders who both had expressions of mixed fury and sadness on their faces.

"Lily found the gash on James' chest to be the work of the Sectumsempra hex."

Sirius looked like he was about to throw something. "Sectumsempra?" he snarled.

Remus placed a staying hand on his shoulder. "Hold on. Before we jump to any conclusions, we should go to St. Mungo's and find Lily."

"She won't be there." Cassandra said, quietly.

"Wha---- No! Sandy, please don't say she---" Sirius got to his feet.

"She did. She went to find Snape."

&&&&&&&

A very bewildered Chloe agreed to take Lily's shift after her hasty explanation of an emergency. It wasn't exactly a lie.

Lily Disapparated to the entrance of Knockturn Alley and took a moment to compose herself. The sight of James' battered body seemed to be imprinted on her eyes. She rubbed them vigorously and focused.

Knockturn Alley's shabby stone archway loomed menacingly in front of her. Lily shook off the chill that usually accompanied her when she had to go down this particular part of Wizard London. Her fear wasn't important. What mattered now was finding the man—no, the _monster_--- who nearly killed her fiancée.

A cloaked figure ducked into a side street in Knockturn Alley's labyrinth of cobblestoned paths. The batlike effect of his movements on his black cloak was a dead giveaway to Lily Evans, who had grown up knowing the oily-haired, hook-nosed git.

_"That was fast." _ Lily thought. _"I expected to take all day in looking for him. Turns out my hunch was right. Or does he want me to find him…?"_

She followed the figure as quietly as she could, taking care not to knock over anything that would reveal her presence. She bit her lip to keep her sadness away at remembering that James was the one who taught her this particular Auror skill of following fugitives.

The cloaked figure left a trail of blood in his wake. Lily gritted her teeth and followed it.

&&&&&&&

The cloaked figure in question ducked into another side street, hoping he was already safe. With his wand, he tried to siphon off the blood that coated his hands. Moving Potter's blasted body left so much of the man's arrogant blood on his clothes and hands. He would have to throw out the robes he was wearing.

A soft scratching noise made him look up. Panic flooded his senses. An Auror must have followed him here! And he had walked straight into a dead end!

He begun to turn on the spot, to Disapparate, when a familiar voice called out;

"_Expelliarmus_!"

His wand flew out of his hand and he was knocked backwards into the brick wall that made up the dead end of the side street.

His hood had fallen during the impact of his drop to the ground. His face was now revealed.

Severus Snape.

He struggled to rise, to look for an escape from his attacker. When he saw who it was, his heartbeat wouldn't let him do more than sit up.

"Lily…" He breathed.

"Severus." She spat.

His heart hurt at the scathing way she said his name. She advanced toward him, pointing her wand directly at his face, his wand in her other hand.

"You nearly killed James!" she yelled, her voice echoing within the side street.

"It was on the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's orders! I--- I …" He tried to think of a way to explain.

"And I bet you volunteered for the job of finishing off James after all the years Voldemort's used him as a dummy for cruel pain?!" Lily felt her anger boil up within her.

"P---Potter…." Snape managed to say. "He—HE TOOK YOU AWAY FROM ME! Don't you understand, Lily?! I ----- I…" He stopped when he saw her crying. Crystal tears flowed from her beautiful emerald eyes. He was causing her this pain. He was the one making her cry…

"Lily, please…. Forgive me…" he clutched at the front of her robes. "Come away with me…"

She wrenched away from him, her wand still pointed into his face.

"Come away with you?" she echoed, not lowering her arm. "I'd sooner die, Severus."

&&&&&&&

Sirius and Remus had immediately begun searching for Lily as soon as they made Cassandra and Adela promise to stay at Potter Manor with Crystal.

The two Marauders had split up to search Wizard London and ended up back in Diagon Alley.

Remus clutched at a stitch in his side.

"We haven't searched Knockturn Alley yet. It's not somewhere anyone would want to go alone."

"Except a Death Eater. " Sirius hurried after him.

"Maybe we should have searched there first." Remus' voice was panicky.

"Then, I take it this is the last time we ask Mundungus Fletcher for information?" Sirius finally caught up with him.

"It seemed like a good idea to ask him where Snape is! He's the Order's underground information source! And if I may I remind you, Padfoot, it was you who said that if we find Snape, maybe we'd find Lily. If we actually find him before she does, all the better!"

Sirius set his mouth in a grim smile. "I'd love to use our old tricks on Snivellus again." He and Remus got out of range of a Non-Apparition spell around certain shops in Diagon Alley and Disapparated.

They Apparated outside the entrance of Knockturn Alley and ran into the dark street as fast as their tired legs would carry them.

"Lumos!" Sirius muttered. His wand tip lit up. Remus followed suit.

They checked every side street and shop they happened to pass. At Borgin and Burke's, the shop owner gave them both a haughty look, which Sirius returned in kind.

The two Marauders were about to turn down one alleyway when voices from a corner side street made them stop to listen.

"P---Potter…" Snape's oily-voiced plea seemed to carry to where they were standing. "He—HE TOOK YOU AWAY FROM ME! Don't you understand, Lily?! I ----- I…"

Remus grabbed his companion by the sleeve of his Auror robes and Sirius found himself unceremoniously dragged for the second time that day.

"Moony—what--- That's them!"

"Shhh!" Remus pulled him along and they both hid behind the corner leading into the side street where the voices were coming from.

"Lily, please…. Forgive me…Come away with me…"

Remus suppressed the urge to throw up. Judging from the way Sirius had turned a sickly shade of green, he was doing the same.

"Come away with you? I'd sooner die, Severus."

"Please…"

"Get away from me!" Lily cried.

"I think this is where we come in." Sirius spoke up.

"Right." Remus replied.

"Though you have to admit, " Sirius panted as they ran to Lily's rescue. "After everything we did to Snivelly at Hogwarts, Lily was one who did the thing that hurt him the most."

"And that would be?" Remus asked.

"Reject him. If memory serves me right, this would be the third time she turns him down.And third time's always the charm."

"When were the first two times she turned him down?"

"First one was during our Hogwarts days. The second one was on the night after she and James got engaged."

They reached the scene just in time. Snape had Lily cornered against a wall.

Sirius shot out a spell that blasted Snape off his feet. He fell with a thump on the cobblestones.

"Lily!" her two friends cried. She looked up in surprise.

"What are you-------" she began to say as she let Remus pull her out of Sirius' line of fire. In their haste, she dropped Snape's wand.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" Sirius roared, making Snape's attempt to get up futile. "You're not going anywhere, Snivellus!" he ran forward.

With a bellow, Snape lunged for Sirius and knocked him to the ground with sheer force. He snatched up his wand and turned to give one last fleeting look at Lily.

"DON'D MOOBE!" Sirius yelled at him, trying to staunch a bloody nose at the same time.

"Let him go, Sirius!" Remus was supporting Lily, who was looking paler than usual.

Snape Disapparated in a haze.

"How did you two ----" Lily started to ask.

"Sandee dold ud." Sirius said through the handkerchief he was holding to his nose.

"I have to remember to thank her." Lily smiled.

"Led's ged oudda here." Sirius said.

"Yeah, come on. People are coming." Remus cocked his ear, listening to the footsteps growing louder behind them.

The three friends quickly made their way to a place where they could Disapparate and quickly did so.


	5. Memories and Amnesia

Tears of a Lily

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It has been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

_**Author's note: Hi! I apologize for the loooongg wait since college has been more than hectic. Since summer started three two weeks ago, I managed to work with this fic once more. Therefore, to make up for the long wait I got you guys in, I decided to upload two chapters. **_

_**Thank you once more those who reviewed. **_

_**Special thanks to my co-writer and beloved beta, **_silvereyesangelwings_** for writing chapter 6. You're the best girl, love ya! **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own those you recognize. **_

_**Chapter 5: Memories and Amnesia**_

Everything was blurry. He could hear a sort of familiar voice calling him, so he strained his ears to hear it. Where could he have heard it?

"_James, can you hear me?" _It asked him.

James? Was that his name? He tried to sit up but he suddenly felt pain pierce every part of his body.

"_Careful."_ The voice said.

He noticed a blurry image of someone and felt a soft pair of hands help him lie back once more.

"_You shouldn't move too much," _she said, "_Your wounds haven't recovered yet." _

Wounds? What wounds?

"_Here,"_ the hands placed something that rested on the bridge of his nose and hooked to the back of his ears, which made the images around him start to become clearer. A beautiful girl with red hair and sparkling green eyes beamed at him, while gently stroking his hair. "_Better?" _

He nodded, not being able to find his voice.

Lily and Kingsley quietly talked amongst themselves while Chloe busily checked on James.

"Have you alerted everyone that James is awake?" asked Kingsley.

"Not everyone," Lily replied. "I was wondering if you could talk to the Order about this tonight. That is, of course, if you're not busy?"

"No, I'm not busy." Kingsley assured her. "I'll break it to the Order tonight. In the meantime, perhaps it's best that I report to the Ministry."

Lily nodded, giving him a hug.

"Thanks for everything, Kingsley."

Kingsley returned her embrace. "It's the least I can do. He saved me that night. You're lucky to have him, Lily."

With a quick nod, he Disapparated.

Chloe led Lily outside James' ward. "Good news is that he can be discharged in a few days, I'll give him about a week. Bad news is, he has amnesia. The torture must have taken a toll on him. Memory spells won't work."

"So, how do we get the old James Potter back?" Lily asked.

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that part, Lily. I'm sorry."

Lily sighed as she hugged her friend. "You've been a lot of help, Chloe. I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, Lily," Chloe said, hugging her back. "He's under sedation for awhile to calm him down. He should be awake in an hour or so."

"Thanks."

(break)

Cassandra gazed out into the window of a study room in the Potter Manor where Adela busily read a letter from Lily saying that James has awaken and, thankfully, sane but with amnesia.

Their task now is to bring back his memories no matter how painful it will be for them. It is a burden on their part. Several painful experiences might just be too difficult for him to accept.

She knew that it would devastate him to hear that his father died summer of sixth year because Voldemort murdered him. She would feel embarrassed to tell him that she once had a crush on him and often felt a twinge of jealousy every time he would talk about Lily during the summer.

The challenge was, though, how could she tell James about Crystal?

_Flashback_

_Cassandra busied herself reading a book one night. She was disappointed. Although she wanted to feel angry at her now ex boyfriend, Marcus, for hooking up with some blonde secretary, it made her think: if she turned him into a frog, would it make him come back to her? No. It would make her feel better but nothing would change. _

_Therefore, she just let it be and did what she did the most: read. _

_The doorbell suddenly rang. Sighing to herself, she put the book down and opened the door. She was surprised to see James standing on her doorway when he was supposed to be on a date with Lily. _

"_James?" she asked incredulously as he entered the room. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a date with Lily?"_

"_Aren't you supposed to be on a date with Marcus?" he rebutted as he settled on the couch. "Can't I visit my best friend?" _

_Cassandra closed the door and followed him. _

"_No, I don't mind you visiting me but aren't you supposed to be with Lily on a date?" _

_Then it hit her. _

"_Did you have another fight with her?" _

_James sighed. _

"_I want to go into Auror training, so much, Sandy. Lily frets about these kinds of things. It's dangerous, I know. I could be killed, I understand. I want to fight. I want to do something about this war." _

"_Lily simply cares for you James. She does not want to lose you, nor would I, and nor would Adela. I understand it is your dream to be an Auror but did you ever consider what might happen to you? What it might do us when something bad happens to you? You are a member of the Order of the Phoenix as well, James. You are already doing something about this war just by joining. Don't you think that's already something?" _

"_You're right. What happened to Marcus?" _

_Cassandra exhaled heavily, "Well, for once you and Sirius were right. Marcus was an idiot. He broke up with me and ran off with some ditzy secretary with big boobs." _

"_I should probably get started with the We-Told-You-So sermon right now but for some reason, I can't seem to have the heart to do it." _

_James' best friend looked astonished. "Is James Potter losing his touch or did you just throw away an opportune moment to sermon me in a big-brother fashion?" _

_James chuckled as he stood up. "Nope. I actually have a great idea. Let's go to a nearby pub and drink." _

"_What?" Cassandra resisted James' strong pull. "No, James. The last time you offered me a drink, I ended up in a hospital with a bandage on my head." _

"_We'll just have one bottle of beer and then we'll leave," James reassured as he pulled out Cassandra's coat from the coat hanger. "I promise. Please, Sandy?" _

_The Wiccan Witch ignored her best friend's pout. _

_It was hard to give in whenever James had that cute pout on his face. _

"_Fine. One bottle of beer and that's enough." _

_(break)_

_The sun shone from behind her bedroom window. Once Cassandra opened her eyes, she felt a major headache coming on, as if someone pounded a hammer into her head last night. _

_She tried to go back to sleep but noticed an arm draped around her waist._

_She turned her head and gasped. Everything that happened last night hit her like a train. The beer. The tequila. The wild night. _

_Cassandra was careful not to breathe, praying that James would be too drunk to remember last night. Imagine, sleeping with your best friend? Carefully, she climbed out of her bed and grabbed her clothes. _

'_Please don't wake up now," she whispered to herself as she dressed. _

_Once she was done dressing up, she grabbed her coat and tiptoed out of the room. _

_James started to stir. Cassandra froze. She was scared to see what James' reaction would be. She was relieved that James simply turned but was still fast asleep. _

_Ignoring the cool weather January brings, she left the house and went to the nearest café for breakfast, giving James time to leave the house. _

_As she ate, she wished it were all a dream, a fantasy for her pleasure alone. She wanted her first to be with someone she truly loved and not because they were under the influence of alcohol._

_(break)_

_The Order of the Phoenix gathered at the headquarters for the usual meeting. All through out the meeting, Cassandra avoided eye contact with James, who was seated just right across her, and listened intently to what Dumbledore was saying. _

_She could feel James' penetrating gaze bore a hole at the back of her head. Her mind reeled. Was James going to confront her? Was he going to apologize or act as if nothing happened between them? _

"_Meeting adjourned," Dumbledore's voice broke her out of her reverie. _

_There was a shuffle of people gathering their things and walking out the door. _

"_Say Sandy," Remus called her as Cassandra quickly gathered her things. "Adela's cooking up a feast tonight at the Potter Manor. Wanna come?" _

"_Sorry, Remus," she said hastily. "I have to do something. Wicca stuff. Tell Adela I'll make it up to her next dinner."_

_Before Remus could say anything, she walked out the door. Sirius and James caught up with the two of them but Cassandra had already left. _

"_What's up with her?" Sirius asked. _

_(break)_

_Positive. _

_Cassandra stared at the Muggle pregnancy test she bought on the way home from the meeting in her hand, trying to allow the news to sink in: She is pregnant with James' baby. _

_Tears escaped her eyes. She is pregnant with her best friend's baby. How could she tell James? How is she going to break it to her stepfather, who despised anything that was associated with magic? To the Marauders? To Adela? To Lily, most especially? _

_How would they react? _

_She broke out of her reverie when she heard someone call her. _

"_Cassandra?" she heard James' deep baritone call. _

_Stashing the pregnancy test into her bag, she quickly walked out of her room and made her way towards the door, ignorant to James' calls. _

"_Cassandra please, talk to me." James yanked her arm with so much force that it spilled the contents of Cassandra's bag. _

_The two bent down to gather up the fallen things. _

"_Cassandra please," James started. "Talk to me. About that night, I-" _

_James beat Cassandra to the pregnancy test. _

_He swallowed. "Are you pregnant?" _

_His best friend grabbed the pregnancy test and stuffed it in her bag once more as made her way towards the front door. _

"_It's none of your business, James." _

_Her best friend stopped her from opening the door. "Cassandra, please. Look at me." _

_He forced her to face him but she tried to fight by banging her fists on his chest. James grabbed her arms and pulled her into a tight hug. _

_Giving in to all the emotions she kept bottled up inside, she sank into the floor and cried with James stroking her hair, soothing her. _

_Cassandra cried on his shirt for a while. Once she calmed down a bit, James looked straight into her honey-colored eyes. _

"_If it's anyone to blame for this, it's me," he said. "I'm the one who persuaded you to drink. I'm the one who had to go all daring." _

_Cassandra wiped her tears with her hands. "I'm the one to blame here too, James. If I didn't lose my conscience, this wouldn't have happened either. What are we going to do now?" _

"_What can we do? We can't take this back. We'll have to keep the baby. Unless, of course-" _

"_Abortion never crossed my mind, James. It's against what I stand for. This also means we have to tell everybody. Pretty soon, I'll be showing and people would start asking questions." _

_James smirked. _

_Cassandra looked alarmed. "What are you smiling about?" _

"_We used to have this kind of dialogue whenever we were in big trouble."_

_James' best friend smiled as well. "You're right. Same strategy when we were young?" _

"_Yep. It will be easier that way." _

_(break)_

_Cassandra watched as her stepfather busily worked in his study room. She felt nervous at the same time, scared that her stepfather's usual reaction towards magic could grow worse and that she could be disowned. _

_Taking a deep breath, she entered her stepfather's room._

_She hastily wiped the tears that managed to snake down her cheek. The painful words her father told her before he evicted her out of her own home echoed vividly in her ears. _

_Now, she had nowhere else to go. How will she take care of the baby? What would the Marauders say? How would Adela and Lily take the news? _

_She stopped by the lake that was part of the Potters' property. Sitting by the dock, she stared at her reflection. She wanted to jump into the water and end her life. _

'_You're a lot stronger than this, Rayne.' She shouted to herself. 'You are the daughter of Cassiopeia, one of the greatest Wiccas of your clan. She never ran away from her responsibility when she had you, remember?' _

"_Cassandra?" _

_She turned, only to find her best friend with his wand out. _

"_What are you doing here? Why do you have a suitcase with you?"_

_The Wicca laughed dryly. "Well, Christopher kicked me out. He really was in it for the Rayne fortune after all." _

"_He kicked you out of the house?" _

"_Yeah, he did. Good riddance to bad rubbish, right?" _

_James sat alongside his friend and nodded. "You said it yourself once: You hated him from the very start." _

"_So, how'd it go with the Marauders and Adela?" _

"_Well, Mum was surprised and at the same time angry, Sirius and Remus were unusually quiet during dinner and refused to talk to me." _

"_I see." _

_The two sat together in silence, pondering on their thoughts. _

"_This used to be our hiding place," Cassandra reminisced. "A place where we could talk about our problems, take out our anger, or simply dream. This used to be where we would enjoy carefree summer days just swimming or boat riding. Remember when Sirius pushed me into the lake wearing my favorite dress?" _

_James chuckled at that memory. "You fell into the freezing lake. You were so murderous when your dress was ruined that you used your powers to throw Sirius into the lake. I was laughing so hard at the two of you that you threw me into the water as well. We had a huge water fight later that we ended up sick for the next two weeks." _

"_I wish life was that carefree. I wish we never had to worry about Voldemort nor this war. Then again, all of this is part of growing up." _

_Her best friend looked at her in awe, "That was deep, Sand. Well said." _

"_Thanks." _

"_Well," James stood and grabbed her suitcase. "It's getting late. Are you coming inside or not?"_

_Cassandra looked astonished. "What?"_

"_Why don't you stay at my place for awhile?" James said slowly as he helped his friend stand. "I won't let the mother of my first child sleep outdoors in this weather."_

"_James, thanks for the offer but, don't you think it's a bit embarrassing and besides, Adela might not approve." _

"_Mum? Nah. If she had her way, she would have adopted you in the first place. Let's put it this way," James added, seeing the doubt still written all over Cassandra's face. "You're sleeping over like the ones you, Lily and Chloe had back during our Hogwarts days only we won't talk about boys nor do each others nails." _

_Cassandra laughed. "Oh alright." _

END FLASHBACK

"Mommy!!" Her daughter's voice broke her out of her reverie.

Cassandra smiled as she saw her daughter walk into the study with Sirius. Taking her daughter in her arms, she asked. "Morning, baby. Did you sleep well?"

Crystal nodded. "Yes, Mommy. Can I come over Uncle Sirius's apartment and play with Logan after school? Please?"

Her eyes traveled from Crystal's hopeful look to Sirius'. "I dunno, Crystal. Sirius, are you sure you could handle two kids alone? I understand Logan's already a handful…"

"Yeah, I can handle these two," Sirius replied. "Besides, Logan's staying with me for two weeks since Andrea had to go to Egypt to study the Runes inside a newly discovered tomb, much to her parents' dismay of course."

"Oh alright. As long as you bring Crystal home by six, understand?" Cassandra put her daughter down.

"I promise, Mommy," Sirius joked.

"Cassandra, Sirius," Adela said. "I want to see my son."

The two looked at each other. "Of, of course, Adela," Sirius answered. "The two of us can go to St. Mungo's today. Sandy, aren't you coming with us?"

"Maybe after tomorrow, Sirius." Cassandra replied as she ushered her daughter into the bathroom to get ready for school.

James groggily opened his eyes. Carefully, he sat up and reached for his glasses on his bedside table. Once he found them, he immediately put them on.

He looked around the room, still curious as to where he was. The redhead was nowhere in sight. Turning to the bedside, he found a small album on it. Intrigued, he took it and opened it.

The album was filled with various moving pictures. Fascinated, he flipped the pages and wondered who these people were.

"Rubbish!" he jumped as he heard a voice of a girl once as the door opened. She held what looked like a newspaper and threw it in the nearest trash bin.

The redheaded girl didn't notice that he was awake and talked to a man about her age that followed her inside.

"Cassandra was never a gold-digger, Remus," she said," Why, she even refused the gold that was supposed to be for Crystal's trust fund but it was only Adela who insisted that she take the money. She never even touched it ever since they were entitled to it."

"That Skeeter woman is a real snake," the man he suspected was Remus replied," She really wants Sandy destroyed, doesn't she?"

"Sandy would never give Rita the satisfaction. I'm sure she-"

Lily gasped when she saw James looking at the two of them oddly, the photo album opened on his lap.

Remus on the other hand, smiled. "Ah you're awake, James. Are you alright? I'm Remus Lupin, one of your friends."

James nodded as he shook his hand. "Do you mind if I ask what were you talking about?"

"It was nothing, James," Lily answered, "I'm Lily Evans." She picked up the album from where it lay on James' lap.

"Do I know you?" James finally asked after a long moment of silence. "And all those people?" he pointed to the photos.

"Yes." Lily tried to stem her tears. "I can… reintroduce you, if you like."

James nodded eagerly, his eyes sparking the same way as Crystal's would whenever she talked about her latest pranks.

It was heartbreaking for Remus, and even more to Lily to see him this way.

"Anything I can get you, James?" Remus asked when he found his voice.

James looked sheepish. Handsomely so.

"I'm a little hungry…"

"Breakfast on the way." Remus managed a smile before clapping a hand on Lily's shoulder and exiting the room.

Lily took a seat beside him on the bed and started pointing at various people in the album and telling James their names.

(break)

Cassandra charged into the office of the Daily Prophet with a copy of the wizarding newspaper in her hands. Remembering the shock that hit her like a tidal wave when she saw her face printed in front of the paper as she talked to Adela and Sirius over breakfast.

Furious at what Rita did, she quickly dressed, dropped Crystal off and headed straight for the office.

Cassandra Rayne, Friend or Fiend?

It is no surprise that Cassandra Rayne, ace reporter of the

Daily Prophet, a great friend, a loving girlfriend, and a

devout mother has several skeletons kept inside her closet

_writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent_.

Miss Rayne, daughter of the powerful Wicca, Cassiopeia

was educated in Salem Witches Academy in America

and graduated top of her class. Little is known about her

childhood but this writer has evidence to claim that she

was a close friend of James Potter. A friendship that

proved to be useful to her.

Three years ago, she was pregnant and disowned by her

stepfather. The Potters took her in and helped

her during her pregnancy, something that raised many

eyebrows. Who was the father of the child? Why was

Adela Potter, widow of the late Auror Adrian Potter, more than

willing to take Cassandra in?

After a series of investigations, it turns out that Cassandra

has written James Potter as the father of three-year old

Crystal and not Derrick Sartoga, her current flame.

Furthermore, there are several documents courtesy of

Gringgots that show that Mr. Potter has placed 30 of the

gold that he was to inherit to Crystal while 70 goes to his

fiancée Lily Evans should anything happen to him.

It is no surprise that Cassandra has indeed struck gold by

striking a friendship with James Potter, let alone having a

baby with him.

Where was Lily Evans when her fiancée was busy cavorting

with his so-called best friend? What was Derrick Sartoga's

reaction when he found out that she and James had a

daughter out of wedlock? How did Adela Potter take the

news?

Derrick Sartoga ought to be careful with his malicious,

gold digger of a girlfriend. There are plenty of single women

out there waiting for him to look their way.

"I was Derrick's closest lady friend before he hooked

up with Cassandra Rayne." Says a source, who asked

to remain anonymous. "I was starting to think there'd be

sparks between us, but that Wicca snagged him first."

"I think Cassandra just wants him for show." Says another

source. "He's one of the hottest wizards around."

This statement of course, is proven by the fact that Mr.

Sartoga has been asked, time and again, to strut his stuff

and pose for Witch Weekly's "Most Charming Smile" section.

He has refused this offer for eight times already. Of course,

if he comes to his senses and finally does accept,

it could be a ticket to more Galleons for Cassandra.

Once Cassandra reached Rita's cubicle, she banged the newspaper in front of her, causing the latter's coffee to spill down the front of her acid green robes.

"Care to explain all this rubbish you wrote about me, Rita?" Cassandra asked, menacingly.

"I see you've read my article Rayne," Rita replied, calmly as she pointed her wand in front of her coffee stained robes. "Does it qualify for a Golden Quill, First Class Award?"

"Sadly, it doesn't Rita," Sandy replied. "I chose to keep the identity of my daughter's father a secret for her safety and thanks to this expose; you just fed her to the dogs."

"It was a small price to pay, Rayne. My readers deserve to hear nothing but the truth. If an interesting piece of material landed on my lap, I'd waste no time and have it published right away, as a _real_ journalist would do…"

"A _real_ journalist?" Cassandra laughed bitterly. "Rita, you have a pathetic idea of what a real journalist is. If risking one's reputation for your own's sake is what a real journalist does well, I don't want to be one."

"…There is a way for me to take everything back, though," Cassandra's rival added, ignoring her outburst, "Sit down with me, spill the Potter family's dirty secrets and maybe I can save what's left of your dignity."

Cassandra could feel her anger boiling. Glasses began to crack; papers started falling, ink started to evaporate in black fog all around the office. Her hands began to smoke.

Rita looked up from the rattling office supplies and at her rival's expression. Her smug smile began to droop into a grimace of fear. She heard that the Raynes came from a powerful clan of Wiccans and judging from what she saw, powerful was an understatement.

"I would rather not, Rita," the Wiccan answered. "Bear in mind that karma comes back to bite you in the behind when you least expect it. I lost my so-called dignity ages ago, so why salvage it when there's nothing left?"

Sandy stalked off, acting as if nothing happened.

(break)

Derrick watched as his parents paced in front of him, the front page of the Prophet with Cassandra's beautiful face beaming at him. It angered him to read something that destroyed his girlfriend's dignity.

"…Imagine our surprise when we saw Cassandra's face on the front page with this story about her. Are all these true?" his mother, Mary Sartoga asked.

Derrick nodded. "Yes, Mother it was true. Sandy and I were waiting for the right moment to tell you the truth. We didn't plan for this story to come out."

Mary looked at her son with a mix of shock and disgust written across her face. Her husband, Anthony on the other hand, looked somewhat relieved. His son had already confided the story with him. Now, he could finally test whether his son has indeed found the woman he was ready to marry or not.

"From the moment I met Cassandra. I knew something was different about her but I waved it aside since she was a sweet and clever young woman. Reading this article changed my perception about her. The saying 'things are never what they seem' proves to be correct."

"So this is what is this meeting is all about, Mother?" Derrick argued, his anger boiling, "To lecture me about how Sandy is not the 'right' woman for me? I love her, Mother. I love her and her daughter so much, no matter how wrong you think it is. We knew you'd disapprove so we waited for the right time to tell you."

"Disapprove? What do you think I feel towards your relationship with her now? Break up with Cassandra today, Derrick. She spells trouble for you and our family."

"I don't care what those people say about her. I love her, Mother. I'll marry her and adopt Crystal if she'll have me."

"Out of the question, Derrick. She is not good enough for you-"

"Not good for me?" Derrick repeated. "Mother, all the women I've brought here to meet you all turned out to be not good for me. What makes Sandy any different? She and James was both drunk when it happened. When James disappeared, presumed dead, she never touched the money he set aside for his daughter. That's the truth. If you wish to believe that lying Skeeter woman, well it's your choice. I am going to marry her with or without your approval."

"Then we will disown you."

"Go ahead, Mother. Who will take over the family business once you disown me?"

The Sartogas had a huge business supplying cauldrons and potion ingredients for the Apothecary for a few centuries now and Derrick is the only heir to inherit the business.

Mary was about to say something when her husband exclaimed, "ENOUGH!"

When he got the attention of his wife and son, Anthony started. "Derrick, you will take over the family business."

"Yes, Father," Derrick nodded.

Anthony's features lightened. "Now, as for Cassandra, if you love her as much as I think you do, go to her and propose."

Mary was surprised. "Anthony, please-"

"Mary, your son's right. Are you going to allow someone else's judgment stand in the way of yours?"

Derrick's mother suddenly looked down to her shoes, defeated. Her husband was right. "No."

"Well then, get to know the girl first before you form your own judgment. Derrick, Cassandra will need you by her side today, especially. Off you go."

Derrick grinned and gave his father a manly hug. "Thank you, Dad."

Filled with so much confidence, he Disapparated.

(break)

Cassandra sat by the windows located by the sitting room, her homework lay in front of her, with a far away look on her face.

She was worried about her and her daughter's safety. Thanks to Rita's article, people would hate them, and the Death Eaters would be more than delighted to have them killed, while the people around them would be in jeopardy as well. She thought about Derrick and his family. Would he fight for her or not? Would he still love her? Will his family accept her?

"Having trouble with homework, dear?" Adela asked, offering Cassandra a cup of hot chocolate, "Or do you have other things in mind?"

"I'm sorry about the trouble with Rita's article," Cassandra answered, accepting the cup while moving some of her things to make room for Adela to sit. "I can't believe she put so many names in it. The Death Eaters are now officially well-informed of us."

"Not _that_ well-informed. We both know how vile that woman can be when it comes to grabbing some attention for herself. Besides, you have your own column at the Prophet. Surely, you could find a way to correct it?"

"She wanted me to pass information on the dirty secrets the Potter family had, Adela. I can't allow her to destroy the family who took me in."

"It was a brave thing to do, Sandy. For that, I thank you."

Cassandra took a sip of her hot chocolate. "It was nothing. How did it go with seeing James, by the way?"

Adela's eyes brimmed with tears, smiling sadly. "He doesn't remember who he used to be. He already knows Lily, Remus, Sirius and I. I saw how much pain he had to go through, Sandy."

Cassandra took Adela's hand and squeezed it. "What matters now is that he's alive, Adela. He'll be fine because we'll take care of him."

"Derrick and Crystal are so lucky to have you, Sandy. I really wish he asked you to marry him. I can see how much he loves you by the way he looks at you."

"If Derrick will still have me, that is. His family would not approve of the idea of Derrick marrying a woman who had a bastard child with someone."

"Nonsense! It is rather difficult for a man to love a child that was never his. Derrick, no matter how difficult it was, loved Crystal like his own daughter. Haven't you noticed?"

"I have, but his family-"

"-has no right to interfere with his decision. If I were you, I'd fight for your love."

Cassandra gave her surrogate mother a hug. "Thanks, Adela."

"All in a days work, child. Now," she took Sandy's now empty cup of hot chocolate saying, "How about I take out the oatmeal cookies I baked as an afternoon snack?"

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Adela."

James' mother walked back inside the kitchen to get the cookies when the doorbell rang.

Thinking it was one of her colleagues pleading her for an interview, Cassandra opened the door.

"Look, guys. What Rita said was full of rubbish-"

Cassandra gasped. It was Derrick.

"What are you-?" she asked weakly as she let him in.

"Shh." Derrick placed his index finger on Cassandra's lips and looked intently into her eyes. "Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I love you and Crystal so much and that I don't give a damn about what other people say nor what Mother thinks about you."

Adela returned from the kitchen with a plate of oatmeal cookies when she heard Derrick talking from the hallway. Smiling to herself, she retreated into the kitchen.

"Mother ordered me to let you go or else I'll be disowned but I declined because," he took her hands and clasped it tightly. "A life without the woman I love is a life not worth living."

Cassandra could feel tears form in her eyes.

"Derrick." She pulled him into a tight hug. Once they pulled away, Cassandra said. "I don't know what Crystal and I would do without you either. All this time, I thought you would leave me."

"I would never leave you, Sandy," he murmured. "That I can guarantee."

He kissed her softly, deepening it by the moment. Cassandra had no idea how long they had been standing there just kissing but it felt so good. She felt his hands make it's way inside her shirt and rest on her lower back, sending shivers down her spine.

"Shall we continue this upstairs?" he asked murmured gruffly into her ear.

"Hmm," she nodded in agreement.

He smiled as he carried the giggling Cassandra bridal style up the stairs and into her room.

(break)

Crystal had managed to convince Sirius and Logan to come back to her grandmother's house with her.

"Come on! Grandma says she baked cookies!"

"_Alright." Sirius hoisted her and Logan onto his broomstick. "We could all use a snack."_

Adela greeted them at the door, as soon as Sirius touched down on the front lawn.

"Hi sweethearts." She gave Crystal and Logan a kiss on the forehead. "Go on in. There are cookies on the table in the kitchen."

"You read our minds." Sirius grinned. He followed the children into the kitchen where a plate piled high with oatmeal cookies awaited them.

"Grandma? Where's Mom?" Crystal asked.

"Upstairs, sweetie."

"I'm going to go ask her if I can play with Logan again tomorrow."

Crystal ran out of the kitchen and pounded up the stairs before Adela could protest.

"Sirius…" Adela started to say.

One look at her face made Sirius' eyes widen. "Adela, what's wrong?"

"Sandy's up there… With Derrick… and well…"

"Ohh….nooo… Crystal could be permanently disturbed!" Sirius turned on one heel and raced up the stairs.

"CRYSTAL! DON'T OPEN THE--"

Crystal's hand had just turned the knob, what she saw made her choke on her mouthful of oatmeal cookie.

Sirius' hands immediately clapped themselves over her eyes.

"SANDY! DERRICK! HAVE MERCY ON THE CHILDREN!" Sirius' horrified voice reverberated throughout Potter Manor.

Sandy and Derrick, who had immediately pulled sheets over themselves when Crystal opened the door, scrambled for their clothes.

"Uncle Sirius?" Crystal managed to say when her coughing subsided.

"Are Mommy and Uncle Derrick doing the thing that I'm not allowed to know about or do till I'm grown up and married?"

"Till you're grown-up and married, yes." Sirius turned her around and led her back down the stairs. He used a foot to close the door to Sandy's room.

(break)

Sandy and Derrick came into the kitchen, five minutes later, dressed, but rumpled.

"I won't tell anyone about what I saw". Crystal promised, before either of them could open their mouths.

"You could have scarred her for _life_, you two. Naughty, naughty." Sirius crossed his arms in his best father imitation.

Adela laughed, bouncing Logan on one knee.

"So what do we do about this?" Derrick held out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ with Rita's article about Cassandra.

Sirius swallowed a mouthful of tea. "Oh, don't worry about that. Rita will get what's coming to her. Remus sent me an owl this morning."

"Hold on, here. Revenge, Marauder-style? This should be good." Derrick accepted a cookie from Adela.

"It will be." Sirius was grinning his most mischievous grin. "We're going to need your help, though."

"Sure." Derrick crunched into the cookie. "What do you want me to do?'

Sirius winked at them all. "How soon can you get a cauldronful of undiluted bubotuber pus delivered to my place?"

Derrick thought for a moment. "If I send an owl to Dad right now, you'll have it by tonight. He's at one of our business's warehouses. He'll be working late."

"Good." Sirius helped himself to more tea before pushing a piece of parchment and a quill towards Derrick. "When we're done with Rita, she'll want the floor to swallow her alive."


	6. When Karma Bites

Chapter 6: When Karma Bites

_**Tears of a Lily**_

_**Summary: It has been three years since James Potter was captured by the Death Eaters and presumed dead. Three years since Lily Evans was engaged to be married. What happens when he returns, barely alive and wakes up with no memory of who he is? **_

_**Author's note: Thank you once more those who reviewed. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own those you recognize. **_

_**Chapter 6: When Karma Bites**_

It had been three days since the article about Cassandra Rayne appeared on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_. Three days of Rita preening and bragging in her loudest, screechiest tone that she deserved a Golden Quill Award, First Class.

Three days of Sandy, trying to ignore the disgusted looks her colleagues were giving her.

And three days for two certain Marauders to set up a revenge plan.

"Can't wait for the fireworks to start." Sirius grinned at Remus, from under their mustached deliverymen disguises.

"Me too. She deserves worse than this for what she did to Sandy."

Remus adjusted the many large bouquets of flowers he was carrying to a more comfortable hold.

They were waiting outside the room that housed the _Daily Prophet's_ offices. Derrick had gone inside about ten minutes ago.

This was going to be a sweet comeback on Rita 'Hagface' Skeeter.

(break)

"Hey, love." Derrick plopped a container of food down next to Sandy's in-tray and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips that drew jealous glances from the other single lady writers of the _Prophet_.

"Hi," Sandy looked up from her parchment and smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd bring you lunch." He indicated the container he brought. "It's lasagna."

"Thanks." Sandy grinned and conjured up a chair for him.

Before he sat down, Derrick leaned in close so no one else could hear what he was going to say.

"Sirius and Remus said we ought to have front seats to the show."

"Show?" his girlfriend looked up from her lasagna.

Derrick only smiled again and pointed his wand at the wall that separated Rita's cubicle from the rest. It went transparent.

In the next moment, an owl came soaring through one of the windows, carrying three large envelopes in its beak. It headed for Rita's cubicle.

"Fanmail!" Rita screeched out in an enraptured falsetto. She stood up and accepted the envelopes from the owl, shooing it away immediately. She opened the envelopes, completely unaware that all of her colleagues could see her because of the suddenly transparent wall of her cubicle.

The envelopes suddenly smoked purple steam and turned red.

"Derrick…" Sandy tried to swallow a mouthful of lasagna. "Are those…?"

"HOWLERS?!" Rita managed to shriek before all three scarlet envelopes burst open and--

_  
_"-- YOU EVIL, TWISTED, LOONY OLD HAG! YOU SHOULD BE ROLLING IN THE DIRT YOU WRITE SO YOU CAN COME OUT AND LOOK LIKE--"

"--TRY AND RUIN CASSANDRA RAYNE'S NAME AGAIN AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE STUCK CLEANING OUT DRAGON DUNG IN ROMANIA, YOU MAGGOT-FILLED BIGMOUTH --"

"--I'LL PERSONALLY MAKE YOU EAT ALL THIS BILE YOU WROTE, YOU TWO-FACED BANSHEE --"

Sandy had to muffle her laughter as she recognized Derrick's, Remus', and Sirius' voices issuing out from three of the largest Howlers she had ever seen.

The Howlers finished bellowing out their messages and erupted into flames than singed Rita's eyebrows, making her slap her face many, many times.

Everyone in the office was trying very, very hard to keep a straight face.

Rita put her cracked spectacles back on and saw to her dismay that more owls were flying in through the window.

"This can't all be hate-mail." She said, confidently. "After all, I--"

Rita didn't get to finish because a tawny owl dropped his package onto her desk where it erupted open and scattered grey furballs all over Rita's cubicle.

"What on earth--?"

Suddenly, the furballs all came to life, growing four legs, a twitching nose, and a long skinny tail. Squeaking loudly, they swarmed the space Rita called her own.

"MICE!" she shrieked. As the hairy little critters began to crawl all over her and her desk. She tried to swat one that was chewing up her next gossip article and got a bite on her finger for all her trouble.

"Hope she tries Vanishing them," Derrick said through tears of laughter. "Remus said they turn into giant rats when you try--"

Everyone in the _Prophet _office laughed even harder as Rita really did try to Vanish the squeaking, scurrying mice. The rodents turned in the air and grew larger as the spell hit them.

More envelopes and packages dropped onto Rita's desk and began to open of their own accord.

One envelope emptied itself over Rita's head, staining her bleached blonde hair an inky black. Another package burst open and littered Venomous Tentacula seeds that covered her cubicle in vines. An envelope containing a Stinging Hex caught Rita on the cheek, plastering a pink welt on her heavily powdered face.

It seemed it was only her cubicle that was in pandemonium. Sirius and Remus had timed their prank to the newspaper staff's lunchtime so everyone could enjoy their meal with live entertainment.

"Here it comes." Derrick leaned forward and pointed out a green envelope to Sandy.

"What's in there?" Sandy clutched her stomach. It was already hurting from laughing so much.

She got her answer at the next second. The envelope opened and littered its contents all over Rita and the rats, which were having quite a hard time in the Venomous Tentacula vines.

"ITCH POWDER!" Rita screamed, as the green envelope shook itself out all over her.

Now, the Venomous Tentacula vines did not appreciate being sprinkled with Itch Powder. The plants began to wave and shake themselves, spattering more powder on Rita and causing rashes the size of chicken eggs to appear all over her skin.

Rita shrieked with all her might. She had lost her wand minutes ago, when the Venomous Tentacula was waving about and one vine smacked its stinging teeth into her wrist. She rubbed her hand over her eyes, trying to get the worst of the mess out of her eyes.

A big grey owl dropped another large package. It wiggled and ripped open. A black blur suddenly latched itself on Rita's wrist.

"A niffler!" Sandy exclaimed.

Laughter erupted around the office once more. Derrick fell of his chair from laughing and began rolling on the floor.

The niffler tried to bite off anything shiny Rita had on, which was unfortunately one-tenth of her outfit. The reporter broke about four of her inch-long nails trying to pry the niffler off her.

"Sirius and Remus saved the best for last." Derrick stood up from the floor.

"There's more?" Sandy asked, over the loud laughter of her fellow writers.

Derrick winked and lifted his wand, causing a spare piece of parchment from Sandy's desk to fold itself into a paper airplane. With another flick, the parchment turned bright red. Derrick pointed his wand at the door and the paper plane zoomed toward it and exited.

(break)

"That's the signal." Sirius nudged Remus as a red paper airplane zoomed out of the office doors.

With last adjustments to their disguises, the two Marauders walked into the _Daily Prophet _ office.

"Delivery for Miss Rita Skeeter!" Sirius called out in a high alto.

A bedraggled, bespectacled woman heaved herself out of a cubicle that looked like a jungle and turned to face them.

Remus had to elbow Sirius, who could not keep from snorting.

"Flowers? For me?" Rita came forward.

"Says so on the card." Remus held up the two large bouquets he was holding.

"Someone must have liked my articles." Rita snatched the bouquets from Remus and Sirius who immediately ducked from her sight and into Sandy's cubicle.

"Flowers?" Sandy raised an eyebrow.

Sirius and Remus removed their disguises and only gave her roguish grins and pointed towards Rita who was leaning in to sniff the four large bouquets she managed to squeeze on top of the mess on her desks.

One of the staff, Paisley Gridlock, writer of the 'Herbology and You' column, immediately ran forward.

"Rita, don't! Those look like--"

_ACCCHHHHHHPHOOOEEEEETTHHHHHHH!_

"-- Sneezing Peonies." Paisley finished, lamely.

Rita threw her head back and let out her loudest scream yet.

"PUS!! UNDILUTED BUBOTUBER PUS!" Rita slopped away from the hissing puddle that was forming from her dripping clothes.

The stinging liquid was causing boils on her face, neck, and hands. The pus was also eating away at her sick-yellow robes.

"UGH!" Rita screeched, trying unsuccessfully to swipe herself clean, amidst all the laughter around her. She trudged towards the bathroom, leaving wet footprints in her wake.

When she passed Sandy's cubicle, she found three people who were definitely not part of the _Prophet's_ staff.

"Nice to see you getting so much mail, Rita." Sandy finished the last of her lasagna.

Her rival could only open and close her mouth.

"Wow, that's a first." Derrick twirled his wand in his fingers. "At a loss for words?"

Rita gave them a hateful look before slopping away.

Sandy began to clap her hands as soon as Rita disappeared into the bathroom.

"Bravo. Meet me after work hours, boys." She grinned at the three men in her cubicle. "Butterbeers are on me."

"Thanks." Sirius grinned.

A shriek form inside the bathroom caused them all to turn their heads toward it.

"We forgot to tell you." Remus' smile would have let him swallow a slice of watermelon.

"We rigged the sinks to a septic tank."

Rita burst out of the bathroom covered in slime and you don't want to know what else. She ran, shrieking, through the rows and rows of cubicles and out the door.


End file.
